Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.67.

EHC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Encompass Health in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Encompass Health by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,520,000 after acquiring an additional 169,113 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Encompass Health by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,586,000 after acquiring an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Encompass Health by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,819,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,083,000 after acquiring an additional 22,311 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,966,000 after buying an additional 198,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 1,288,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,430,000 after buying an additional 158,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $95.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Encompass Health has a one year low of $57.55 and a one year high of $98.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.04.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.38%.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation provides post-acute healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that provide medical, nursing, therapy, and ancillary services. The company provides specialized rehabilitative treatment on an inpatient basis to patients who have experienced physical or cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, and various debilitating neurological conditions.